The Other Cheek
by UnknownCelebrity
Summary: Summer's life has always been a breeze, but for the past year things have been spinning wildly out of control. Summer's dad's ill with cancer, her stepmom's gone, college will start soon...it looks like the only person who can reach her is Seth. R&R Enjoy


**The Other Cheek**

**Author:** funnybunny7

**Chapter One:** Distance

_R&R, Enjoy!_

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"So, then he just gave me this adorable little teddy bear. It like, lit up when his bear kissed it! Like it was blushing!" Marissa laughed, biting on a tuna snap.

"Yea, okay." Summer said, looking off into the distance.

They were both at Marissa's favorite restaurant, After Dawn. It was a small eatery outside of Newport.

"Are you okay, I mean, you haven't touched your broccoli squares." Marissa reached for Summer's hand, worried.

"Yea, Coop I'm find, but I really don't think this is a great idea. I mean, it was super nice that you wanted to cheer me up. But the truth is, I just want to be alone." She got up and grabbed her designer purse. Then she walked towards the door

Marissa sighed. "Well, I tried." She whispered, leaving a tip.

* * *

Summer put her hands in her jean pockets.

She didn't mean to hurt their feelings, but she was going through a rough time right then. Her dad was sick, she was going to go to college soon, and that whole thing with Seth.

The west coast breeze panted against her face. She was walking along a pier, the one her and her mom used to walk on. Where was her mom? She'd probably never find out.

Suddenly, she saw a familiar face.

"Summer, hey!" Seth ran up to her, soaking wet, and shirtless. Ryan ran up behind him.

Summer smiled softly. "Hey Seth, what are you doing here? Its kind of far out, isn't it?"

"Yea well, this part of the city has some of the best waves. So, me and Ryan have come to tackle them." He held up his surfboard. "So, what are you doing out here?"

"Oh, I was having lunch with Marissa. But, I decided it was a bad idea."

Ryan perked up hearing her name. "Do you know where she is? I wanted to talk to her."

"Yea, she's down that way, in After Dawn. It's a restaurant. Her favorite, by the way."

"Okay, thanks!" He ran up the beach towards the restaurant.

Summer longed to have someone love her as much as Ryan loved Marissa. She watched him run along the beach. Oh well, Seth would just have to do.

"So, Summer, why'd you leave your best friend at one of the most suave restaurants in Newport? Bad clam chowder?" He joked.

"No, I just-want to be alone." She looked faintly away from him.

His smile faded. "Hey, your not at all your bitchy ego-wrapped-up self. Anything wrong?"

She began to walk away and said coldly "Is that ANY of your business Cohen?" 

He stared after her, hurt. Then he ran after her. "Oh no you don't! I smell trouble, and when trouble is near, it better run! For Seth Cohen beats trouble's ass."

Summer couldn't help but giggle.

"See, there's that smile that I hardly ever see." He examined.

Her expression immediately became cold again. "You tricked me..."

"Silly Summer, tricks are for kids. That was merely a hoax, so in translation I 'hoaxed' you-"

Summer threw her hands up. "Okay, would you SHUT UP?! I am going through a hard time right now and all you can do is joke around!!!"

He nodded. "Well, Summer, if you would actually let me know you were going through a hard time, I wouldn't joke. Wow, what a concept." He paused, seeing the sad look in her eyes. "Are you going through a hard time?"

Summer sighed. "Yes. I mean no. Ugh! I don't even know!" She ran her fingers through her jet black hair.

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked softly.

"Yes, actually there is."

She turned to face him.

"You can stay the hell away from me!" She stomped off, which was hard to do because she was in heels and in sand.

Seth shook it off and stalked her. "Wow, if I had a dime for everytime I've heard that before. Ironically, all by you."

"Well isn't that just your middle name?" Summer rolled her eyes.

"Wh-what? Gerald? Which, by the way, I was named after some great rabbi, so don't spread that around."

Summer burst and yelled. "No! Irony! Humor, sarcasm, it gets quite annoying ya know!"

She folded her arms and stopped walking. Gritty sand in pointed-toe heels was not a good blend.

Seth squinted his eyes against the sun. "You're not really mad at me, are you?"

"Yes I am." She said defiantly, but sounding much more like she was trying to convince herself. "I mean look at you with your action figures, and shaggy brown hair that looks quite nice when it's actually combed-"

Seth swirled her around and grabbed her shoulders. "Summer...Shh. Don't speak." He smiled.

Summer shook her head. "Why?" She asked, looking at him strangely.

"I know what you're trying to say." He smiled proudly, like a little boy who had gotten his dad's old football on Christmas morning. Or, in Seth's case, dad's old Superman #5 Special Edition comic book.

Summer sneered and cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Humor me."

"This is your way of confessing your undying love for me." He leaned on his surfboard. "And honestly Summer, its about time."

Summer's jaw dropped. "E-excuse me?! As if!" She stumbled backwards, taken aback.

"Summer, I would love to start a relationship with you, but I really think it would hurt our friendship." He pretended to be understanding.

Summer couldn't help but smile. "What friendship, Cohen?"

"C'mon, tell me how much you love me. How much?" He laughed cockily.

Summer rolled her eyes, a smile still plastered on her face. She bent down and began to remove her shoes. "Okay, now I am officially leaving."

But Seth, the superman, was too quick. He grabbed her shoes and threw them in the ocean.

She gawked in awe before she realized what had just happened. A rage blackout was on arise.

"You asshole! Do you know how much those cost?! Those were my _custom made _Juicy Couture pink pointed leather toe heels!!! That you just threw in the ocean. In the ocean they are thrown!" She punched him aggressively in the chest.

"Well, **Madame**, I guess you will just have to go retrieve them, wont you?" An evil grin was spread on his face.

Summer's eyes widened. "Oh no!!! Don't you dare-Cohen!!! I mean it-**COHEN**!!!"

He picked her up and threw her into the blue Pacific waters.

Summer sputtered up from the waters, gasping. The water was hardly deep, she could sit in it and it came up to her stomach. Waves hit her over and over again. She growled. "Cohen, YOU ARE _SO _GOING TO GET IT!"

Seth pounded the sand with his fists, hooting. "Yes, what was that, Ariel? It seems my ears are water logged!"

Summer crawled out of the water and grabbed his ankles, pulling him into the cold Pacific with her.

Ryan and Marissa watched from the pier, Marissa's eyes filled with pain as she watched her best friend.

Ryan noticed this. "Hey what's wrong?"

Marissa didn't blink. "Its Summer...she hadn't gotten out in weeks, which by the way, has _killed _her complexion." She paused and brushed the stray hairs the wind had blown in her face away. "Staying in that house isn't good for her...she's been taking care of her father since her step mom walked out. All I ever do is see her mope around all of the time."

She turned towards Ryan slowly. "I-I actually saw her crying the other day." She said softly, her face in a pained expression.

Ryan tried not to act too surprised. "What? Ice queen Summers?" He quickly realized this wasn't the time. "Sorry."

Marissa nodded. "Yeah, I know. I don't think she knows I know though. I mean, I was at her house when it happened...I-I told her I was going to the bathroom. Big lie on my part. And, she just sorta...I don't know broke down. And she didn't stop for like ten minutes. Seeing her like that..." She stopped and bit her lip. "It gives you the chills, you know? And _I'm _usually drama girl. Guess I pass the torch."

Ryan sighed. "How much time does her dad have?"

"Not a lot from what I can tell. He's lost all of his hair and he weighs like, 90 pounds. He can't even eat anymore. But he'll never go to the doctor. Too prideful. His leukemia just keeps getting worse and worse though. Gosh, that sounds so Nicholas-Sparkish."

Marissa wiped her eyes as her voice began to quaver.

"I remember, when we were like 10 years old, I would always go to Summer's house when things got bad at home. And her dad would always take us to the zoo, or shopping...and its going to be so weird without him being around." She shook as she choked out.

Ryan grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "Hey hey, Shh. It'll be okay."

"I know, I'm just so worried about Summer! I mean, she hasn't conditioned her hair in like weeks, the last outfit she bought was from _Sears_, Ryan, I mean **_Sears_**!" She sobbed into his chest.

Ryan maintained his composure. "She has Seth, remember? Seth is her rock."

Marissa pulled away, and stopped crying. "Your right...by the way, how has he been taking all of this?"

"He's pretty much flowing down the river of Denial now. I think he acts like he doesn't know, just to make the pain pass. Not for Summer's father, he pretty much doesn't care for him all that much since that dinner they all took together. But for Summer. And if someone is going to act like something's not wrong, it's most definitely Seth Cohen." Ryan concluded, scratching his head.

Marissa quickly dabbed some powder on her face to make the redness go away for her tears.

Summer and Seth walked onto the pier, both soaked and clearly pissed at the other. Well, Summer was pissed. Seth just acted like he was pissed so Summer would be happy. He personally heard her say once, quote 'It's like, no fun if the other person doesn't care' unquote.

Summer was shaking her finger at him angrily. "One shoe, Cohen, _one shoe_. That was all I found. Let me see together they add up to $735 dollars, divided by 2. You officially owe me $368 dollars." She snapped.

"$367.50, Summer. Do the math." Seth retorted, hiding his grin.

Marissa smiled gently. "Hey Summer. Gone for a swim have you?" She snickered.

"Not funny Coop, NOT funny at all." Summer shook some water out of her ear. "Thanks a lot, Cohen. I, aside from the rage blackouts, also suffer from Swimmer's Ear. Let's add $500 dollars for a hearing aid to the $3_68 _on our little charge account."

Seth glared back. "Consider it **_charged_**." He looked over at Ryan. "Hey man, what's wrong? You two look like Dawson's Creek has been cancelled. Which, hate to burst your bubble, it already has been." Seth asked, knowing perfectly well why Marissa and Ryan were sad. He gave them a suck-it-up-for-Summer's-sake-I-am look.

"There's always reruns, Cohen!" Summer rang out her soaking hair, paying no attention to any of the mind conversation at hand.

"True, very true, but why watch it? I mean, who names a girl _Joey_?" Seth asked in a fake snooty voice.

"Another day, another argument Cohen! Not right now. Let's save it for next TIME! Marissa, oh my God, what time is it?"

Marissa shrugged. "A watch doesn't really go with this outfit, Sum."

"Seth?!" Summer yelled desperately.

"Um, 3:25, why?" He asked absentmindedly.

Summer groaned. "Oh shit! I was supposed to give Daddy his medicine three hours ago!" She put her hand to her mouth, and held back the sobs that were inching up her throat.

Marissa moved forward quickly. "I'll drive." They quickly jogged to the Corvette that sat in a parking lot 20 feet away.

Seth stared after her. He hated seeing his girl in pain...his girl. That sounded so good.

* * *

Summer rushed into the door of her home, running up the stairs. "Daddy? Daddy!" She yelled.

She swung open the bedroom door, relieved to see that he was breathing. Slowly, she inched over to his bed. "Daddy?" She gulped out.

He wouldn't respond, she knew it. He was beyond that point. The last thing he said to her was 'Honey, go fetch the Wall Street Journal'. Somehow, she knew those would be his last words.

She wiped some drool that was hanging out of his open mouth with a rag and smiled not-very-realistically. "Its time for your medicine, okay?"

Even though he couldn't talk, Summer knew he could hear her. She didn't know how, maybe it was a Roberts's thing.

She sighed and shuffled downstairs into the kitchen to retrieve his pills and water.

Memories were washing over her like the waves in the Pacific that had pounded her only a few hours ago.

Once, when she was 8, she had gotten the chicken pox for the first time. Her Daddy was there to talk to her and sooth her the whole way through it, just like she was doing to him now. Only, leukemia wasn't chicken pox. There wasn't exactly a vaccination for it.

She knew it was selfish, (boy was that a first), but she couldn't help think, who's going to take care of me after he's gone? Who's going to tuck me in and read me Teen Vogue before I go to sleep every night? Who was going to look under the bed and make sure that no 'creepysleepys' were lurking around?

Thinking all of this frustrated Summer. For the first time ever, she realized something. He was it. Once he was gone, she was officially an orphan. Not even Chino orphan. Unfortunately, she hadn't stolen a car and her super-rich public defender wouldn't graciously welcome her into his home.

Sure, her mom was still alive or so she thought. But they had never really interacted. In the forever sort of way.

The tears that had threatened Summer for so long now freely streamed down her face. There was so much her and her dad had never done. When she was little, they had planned to be the first father-daughter expedition to climb Mt. Everest. But then Summer realized they didn't make Gucci snow boots.

She sat down at the island in the middle of her kitchen and put her head in her hands.

"I'm so tired..." She groaned to herself. She could fall asleep just as she was. Heck, she could fall asleep while bungee jumping into an active volcano if she wanted to. 'Memo' she thought to herself. 'New Road Rules episode next Tuesday.'

As she slid off the barstool and picked up the water and pills, she heard a door slam. "Summer?" It called. It was a man voice, but not a deep main voice. It was a voice that could only belong to-

"Cohen?" Summer asked, wiping her eyes,

It was true. Seth walked into the kitchen, holding a wet, and probably molding shoe.

"Ha! I now owe you only $500 dollars, Miss Roberts. In your face, _disgrace_." His mood turned serious once he saw her.

"Summer?" He stepped towards her, but she backed against the island.

"Just don't Seth. I'm fine."

"Summer..." He began again, worry written all over his face.

"Leave...please, I'll be fine." The tears fell quicker and quicker, she knew she couldn't suppress them now.

"Summer..." He started to reach out to hug her but she pushed him away.

"Just get away from me!!!" She yelled, pounding her fists into his chest. Then it happened. She began to sob in his torso, and fell to her knees. He grabbed her before she hit the cold kitchen tile.

"I'm too young!" She sobbed. "Too young..."

"Too young for what?" He asked, stroking her hair.

She slowly pulled her self away and looked up at him. Her MAC mascara was stream lining down her face, and her eyes were red and puffy. But to Seth, she was the most gorgeous human being that had ever been sprouted.

"I'm too young to be alone." She choked out, her voice rasped.

His lips became chapped, and his palms sweaty. A pained expression was swiped all over his face. "Baby, you'll never be alone." He kissed her forehead. "Shh...I'll always be there for you."

Summer whimpered and picked her self up off the ground. "Seth, you know that's not what I mean." She folded her arms and looked away.

Seth gradually rose off the floor too. "No...I really don't." He looked confused. "Explain."

Summer flung her hands up desperately. "I mean, I'll never have any parents! I'm going to have to take care of myself, a-and live by myself!" She paused and after a beat said "A-and I don't think I'm ready to do that, you know?"

Seth nodded and put his hand on her shoulder. "Yea, I know."

Summer smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. "Cohen, you are _such _a Pacey."

"A Pacey? Is that the new hip and cool word for sexy beast?"

Summer laughed quietly, sniffing. "As like, Pacey on Dawson's Creek?"

"Oh..." Seth slowly began to understand. Then reality hit him. "Wait, your comparing me to _that guy _with chin pubes? I am rightfully offended." He placed a hand to his heart, pretending to be hurt.

Summer swatted playfully at his arm. "No...when it's the little things, you couldn't care less. But when its something that _really _matters...you're their for your friends."

"What friendship?" Seth joked, remembering what she said earlier.

"Cohen, don't ruin the moment." Summer groaned. Seth shushed.

Summer continued. "So, do you get what I'm saying?" She asked hopefully.

"Yep, gotcha. I'm the guy from a lame primetime soap with chin pubes." Seth joked.

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PLEASE R&R!!! I spent a lot of time writing this story. Thanks! funnybunny7

**Spoilers on Next Chapter:**

Ryan: Listen, I know what its like to be alone.

Summer: _(rolls her eyes) _Do you? Not all of us are as lucky as you, finding the Cohen's and all. Really and truly? _(Sighs) _You have **no **idea.


End file.
